Weekly Initial Unemployment Claims decreased to 276,000

In the week ending May 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 276,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 2,000 from 282,000 to 284,000. The 4-week moving average was 274,750, an increase of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 500 from 271,500 to 272,000.

There were no special factors impacting this week’s initial claims.

The previous week was revised to 284,000.

The following graph shows the 4-week moving average of weekly claims since 1971.

Click on graph for larger image.

The dashed line on the graph is the current 4-week average. The four-week average of weekly unemployment claims increased to 274,750.

This was at the consensus forecast of 276,000, and the low level of the 4-week average suggests few layoffs.Calculated Risk